Circle Time
by shrinni
Summary: [abandoned until inspiration strikes] Who was the first person to let the Elves into Lancre, and how did the witches make them leave?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Discworld belongs to Terry Pratchett, but as this story is somewhat of a prequel, all of the characters (with the exception of the Queen and Death) are mine, as is the idea of this story.

AN: I would like to note before I start that I intend this to be a serious fic (weird in Discworld-land I know), so humor will probably be at a minimum. Thought I should let you know.

* * *

**Circle Time by shrinni**

**Chapter 1**

In the mountains that were just becoming known as the Ramtops, on a hill otherwise completely covered in trees and associated bracken, there was a clearing. If a person were to look at it, they would notice nothing special, aside from the odd suddenness by which the clearing appeared the forest. Normally the boundary between forest and grass wasn't so... clear. But that is all a person would notice, because humans spend the majority of their time ignoring their senses. It is the amazing ability of the human mind to turn the extraordinary into something mundane.

Animals though, animals noticed the clearing. You could tell they noticed because no animal went near the clearing. Birds wouldn't fly over its airspace. Only the most desperate animal, like a cornered deer, would attempt to jump across it. So far they had always made it all the way across, but they weren't going to push their luck.

A witch might notice the strangeness about the clearing, if she was particularly powerful and she was paying attention. But even the most awkward of witches would notice the sharp smell of snow that always hung around the clearing, even at the height of summer.

The strange clearing had never been important, because no one had ever gone up this particular hill. The settlements in the Ramtops were still relatively new; people were still claiming land, building castles. They didn't have time to go up this hill and poke around. Hunters didn't even come up there, because the game avoided it.

If no one had ever come up to the clearing, then this story couldn't have happened. A door is exactly the same as a wall... until someone turns the handle.

* * *

Also in the Ramtop mountains there were the beginnings of a castle. Just the foundations and perhaps the basements were completed, but castle building is a lengthy business, and the basements were enough to host the king and his family and servants. The rest of the people that lived around the castle did so in small huts or rough houses, depending mostly on how much time they had on their hands.

One house among the cluster, a large one with real thatching instead of the skins many people were still using, was home to the formidable Mistress Ogg (Charity to her friends). She wasn't the oldest person in the village, but she was the leader. The men assumed that this was because she was related too and matriarch over most of the population, but most of the women knew better. Mistress Ogg was head of the village because she was head of the witches.

Maybe a third of the women in the village were witches. Mothers taught their daughters, and if they had no daughters or none of their own were magically inclined they would take in a likely girl from an unknowing family 'to help with the chores, and get her out and meeting people', and teach her witching. The women in non-magical families didn't tell their husbands, because they knew the witches were needed. When your child is burning with fever, and it's beyond your skill to heal, you don't find the cure by setting fire to the doctor.

Mistress Ogg was as powerful a witch as the village had ever seen. She had four daughters, all of whom had grown up to be respectable witches in their own right, and more importantly were married and had many children of their own. Mistress Ogg taught them all.

Given the number of girls she had in her care each day while the menfolk were away hunting and building and plowing and other important manly things, it was surprising that she had also taken in a girl from a non-magical family to teach. But one day Mistress Ogg had shown up at the Weatherwax home and asked Mrs. Weatherwax if her daughter Sadie would like some work. Sadie had moved in with the Oggs immediately.

Sadie wasn't exceptional in any way; her family was persistently as non-magical as a log. Sadie was a decent doctor, but she was only mediocre at the more magical aspects of witching. she wasn't beautiful either. The most anyone could say about her was that she was striking. They probably wouldn't say it, because Sadie had a sharp tongue and enjoyed staring at people with her disconcertingly blue eyes.

Sadie didn't have any friends, she had competitors. She had never bothered to _get along_, she preferred to get ahead. This perhaps, was the only reason she had any talent with magic at all. She also had a stubborn streak, which many said only Mistress Ogg could match. Sadie had decided she wanted to be a witch and she refused to give up until she learned everything.

People whispered that she had gone up the mountain to speak with the dwarfs and the trolls, but only very quietly. There were some things too ridiculous to even whisper about, no matter how strange and eager that Sadie girl was.

As quiet as the whispers were, Sadie heard them. She didn't care what they thought about her now, because she knew that one day she would be the most powerful witch in King Lancre's land. She had vowed to herself when she began learning witchcraft that one day the whole world would know who she was, that her name would be famous.

Or infamous, it didn't really matter to Sadie.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I bow before the genius of PTerry, I am not worthy! Discworld is his, I'm just borrowing it and taking it for some exercise.

AN: muahaha, 2nd chapter 1 day after the 1st, go me! I should warn you not to expect a chapter every day though, I just happened to have a lot of time today and yesterday.

And special thanks to ihadanepiphany (I love your screename) and wottabout, thanks for the compliments and for the very quick reviews :) makes me fell all warm and fuzzy inside.

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**Circle Time by shrinni**

**Chapter 2**

"My Queen, we found another one!"

"Are there people nearby this one? The first one you found was completely deserted."

"There's an entire village, my lady."

"Maybe someone here can be convinced to open the door." The Queen's smile was as content as a cat's... and as predatory.

* * *

"Sadie, I want you to run to the blacksmith's and fetch me some nails."

Sadie sighed, and put down the chicken she had been plucking. "Yes Mistress Ogg." She walked out of the door without bothering to grab any money. You didn't need money when you were getting something for Mistress Ogg, a courtesy no one ever gave Sadie.

For weeks now Mistress Ogg (Sadie couldn't help but call her that, even in her head) had been treating her like a daughter, not a student. Sadie wasn't sure if this was because she had offended Mistress Ogg in some way, which she did often, or because she had learned all that Mistess Ogg had to teach her. It didn't matter either way, she would be Mistress Ogg's _student_ until Mistress Ogg said she was done.

Sadie walked down the street, barely more than a dirt track, staring down her nose purely out of habit at the other people who were walking by. Her heart wasn't in it though, she was caught up in speculation about what she would do once Mistress Ogg said she was done 'learning'.

_I'll make the king pluck my chickens, I'll make the queen sew my dresses. I'll make all the men build me a nice house..._

This idle daydreaming was absurd even to Sadie, but it was a pleasant way to occupy her mind so that she didn't have to pay attention to the unpleasantly humid summer day around her. She didn't notice the flowers growing on the wayside or the gentle green of the spring leaves, Sadie couldn't be bothered to notice much that didn't affect her.

She rapped her knuckles sharply on the door of the small shed that served as the village's blacksmith.

"Come in." called a muffled voice.

Sadie pushed open the door and stepped inside. The blacksmith's name was Rand, and he was about five years older than she was. He was a tall man, as most blacksmith's tended to be, but he was wiry instead of hulking. When he lifted the hammer, to most it seemed like he would drop and be crushed under its weight, which luckily for Rand hadn't happened yet.

"Hello Miss Sadie." said Rand, placidly dipping some cherry-red metal into a barrel of steaming water.

"Mistress Ogg would like some nails." Sadie said, not bothering to keep the boredom out of her voice. She thought iron was pretty useless, and more expensive than good wooden pegs or bronze tools. Most of the hunters still used bronze knives and arrowheads, why should they pay extra from something shinier?

"There's a pail o' nails by the door Miss Sadie." Rand said without looking up from his work. "Tell Mistress Ogg thanks for the foot powder she gave to me, it worked wonders."

"I will." Sadie paused, waiting for Rand to at least look at her, but he just continued doing strange things to metal. Sadie sniffed loudly and grabbed the pail of nails. As she left she made sure to slam the door loudly behind her.

She stomped back down the path. She took pride in being a mystery to all the people in the village. Their distrust made her feel cool and edgy. But Rand had treated her like a _normal person_. She would have to think up an inventive way to punish him later.

Sadie picked up a nail and examined it as she walked. She didn't like iron, it was the only thing (besides octiron, but there wasn't any in the Ramtops) that could be magicked in any way. The nail sat there innocently on her palm, being as pragmatic and real as, well, a lump of iron. It was hard to think of anything less magical or romantic than an iron nail.

_When I'm the most powerful witch ever, no one will use iron..._

Sadie pushed open the door into the Ogg's kitchen quietly, she had learned her first week there that you never banged things in Mistress Ogg's home, no matter how irritated you were.

"I'm back." She called.

"Oh good," said Mistress Ogg, walking purposefully into the kitchen, "the cabinets in the kitchen need to be replaced. Thomas was making me new ones but he ran out of nails."

Sadie surrendered the pail to Mistress Ogg, who strode towards the back door.

"Mistress Ogg." called Sadie.

She stopped. "Yes Sadie?"

"Why can't you magic iron?" asked Sadie curiously.

Mistress Ogg shrugged. "You just can't." she said pragmatically. She continued out the door, but paused just past the threshold, "Once you finish plucking that chicken you can go, Sadie."

"Thank you Mistress Ogg." said Sadie dutifully.

Sadie was anxious to go, but she very carefully finished plucking the chicken, and putting all the feathers in a separate bowl, before wiping her hands and leaving the house. That was another lesson that had been methodically drilled into Sadie's head by Mistress Ogg. Don't shirk your chores, or there will be Trouble.

Sadie walked slowly down the dirt lane once again, past the blacksmith's shed, past the partly-constructed castle, past the last of the houses and huts and walked sedately into the woods.

_When I'm a great witch, I'll have servants pluck my chickens, and cook them, and do all the cleaning up afterwards..._

Once she was safely out of sight of the village, Sadie made a sharp turn right and picked up her pace, walking very quickly up the mountain. She had a long way to go, and if she missed supper Mistress Ogg would have questions.

As Sadie walked, she thought about her lessons so far with Mistress Ogg. She was shamefully aware that all of Mistress Ogg's granddaughters had learned with lightning speed compared to Sadie. Oh, she was probably their equal when it came to making medicines and such, but whenever someone was hurt, Sadie was the last person they asked for.

And when it came to magic... Sadie didn't know why she was so slow, she tried so _hard_. But it never seemed to make any difference. She couldn't seem to move things with her mind, the way the other girls sometimes would do when Mistress Ogg was out.

Sadie had been told by Mistress Ogg's youngest daughter Margaret once that Sadie would never be a good witch until she understood people. But what was the point of that? Magical power came from her, not the people around her, didn't everyone know that? What was the point of bothering to _understand_ people, when all they did was get in her way?

A treacherous thought popped up. _Well, if you understood them, maybe they wouldn't be in your way all the time..._

Sadie squashed the thought; she knew that people were the obstacles keeping her from what she needed. She was sure Mistress Ogg was deliberately keeping Sadie from doing well at magic. That must be it.

After a great deal of walking, Sadie finally stopped in front of a rock that looked perfectly normal. She kicked it lightly. "Open up, please."

After about a minute of patient waiting, the rock flipped over, exposing a irritated-looking dwarf with peering up at Sadie from a large hole in the ground.

"Oh," said the dwarf, looking exasperated, "it's you again, is it?"

"Yes Mister Glodsson, it's me."

The dwarf sighed. "What do you want to know this time? How to mine? Which end of the ax is which?"

Every few week, Sadie made the trek up the mountain to see Dorrel Glodsson and asked him questions. He didn't know why she was so curious about everything, but she gave him several gold pieces every time, so he didn't send her away.

"Perhaps next time Mister Glodsson. This week I would like to know why you can't magic iron."

Dorrel pulled himself out of the hole and sat on the edge of it, letting his feet dangle in the darkness. Sadie gingerly lowered herself until she sat across from him. "No one better be down there looking up my skirt." She warned severely.

"Don' worry about it miss." said Dorrel, "Everyone's down in number 3 shaft today following a promising seam."

Sadie nodded. There was always a promising seam somewhere.

Dorrel launched into a long explanation about the properties of iron. It was difficult for Sadie to follow because it was filled with phrases like "load-bearing matrix" and "reality and unreality shift never affect the basic components..." But Sadie was fairly certain she understood the gist:

Most of magic lay in the mind, the ability to bend reality around so that it fit another set of parameters. One of the reasons it was impossible to magic iron was that iron seemed to defy the imagination. It is almost impossible to really imagine iron being anything other than iron, it's too boring, to _real_ to be changed.

Magic also depends on the objects being used. It is easy to change something that is very mutable, like water, or something that has been previously changed, because there is already some uncertainty built into the molecules of the object. But again iron can't be changed because there's no uncertainty. There's nothing really more certain than iron.

Sadie listened to Dorrel talk for a good hour or so before she started to tune him out for her own thoughts, which were more interesting, when something new came up.

"Wait, what did you say?" Sadie asked.

"I _said_," said Dorrel, looking more irritated than normal, "that there is iron that contains the love of other iron. It came down from the sky in a storm, so we call it thunderbolt iron. We have about ten large bocks of the stuff, but we're not sure what to do with it yet."

"What do you mean that the iron contains the love of iron?"

"It means that normal iron is attracted to it, and sticks to it quite firmly. When we first found it we had to pry quite a few dwarves out of all their clothes to get them unstuck."

Sadie tried, but she couldn't keep from grinning a little at the thought of several angry dwarves stuck firmly to a boulder.

"You may laugh, but it's amazing stuff." Misinterpreting her grin as her doubting the amazing ability of the thunderbolt iron, Dorrel was now pulling several things out of his pocket, a small stone and a fine chain. "Look, I got a fragment of the stuff."

Dorrel held the stone up in one hand. It was reddish brown and lumpy, and certainly didn't look like it contained the love of anything. Dorrel held up the chain in his other hand, about a foot away from the stone. Then he dropped one end of the chain.

Sadie gasped. The chain was sticking out almost horizontally, straining to get towards the thunderbolt iron. She had never seen anything like it. It made the iron chain, despite it's essential non-magicness, seem romantic and exciting.

Dorrel started droning on about the properties of the thunderbolt iron that they had discovered, none of which made any sense to Sadie.

"Thank you Mister Glodsson, it was very interesting." Sadie said, cutting him off almost mid-sentence. She stood slowly, stretching cramped muscles.

"Well, it's always a pleasure to talk to you Miss Sadie." Dorrel said with as much sincerity as he could muster and looking up at her expectantly.

Sadie reached into her purse and pulled out two gold pieces, which she tossed into Dorrel's eager hands. She walked away from him without bothering to say goodbye.

Dorrel bit the gold pieces to make sure they were authentic, pocketed them and the stone and chain, then watched Sadie's retreating back with an abiding mistrust for the human race that no amount of gold could overcome.

When he was sure he was out of earshot he muttered "you bugger", then retreated back down his hole, pulling the rock back on top until there was hint that a home lay underneath it.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: special thanks to hehe and especially Rissa for a nice long review. I can take the criticism (after only a moments ego-trip, I promise), and I never catch all my mistakes so at some point I'll have to find a beta. Hopefully my dialogue isn't as stilted/overused this time, I tried to take more time to make it flow.

Standard disclaimer: Discworld is not mine, and I promise not to break it. The story and most of the characters are mine however. mineminemine. There.

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**Circle Time by shrinni**

**Chapter 3**

She passed through the mountains like the echo of a whisper. No one noticed her presence; no one felt the briefest of touches on their mind.

She wasn't distracted by the thousands of thoughts that flitted through a human mind every minute, she was searching with predatory intent for something specific. She needed a powerful mind, but one that could be easily swayed. She needed someone young, someone rebellious, someone pliable.

She continued to search, pausing only for a moment to survey each mind she found before moving on. All it would take was one person...

* * *

Nearly a week had passed since Sadie had gone up the mountain to ask Dorrel about iron. For several days she had spent idle moments speculating about the wonderfully magical things that might be done with thunderbolt iron, but she had realized after awhile that the dwarves would never giver her any of the stuff to experiment with, which was a pity.

She had spent the past five days running errands, cleaning house, and cooking meals for Mistress Ogg. The lessons on magic were still not forthcoming, and Sadie was now seriously worried about being stuck as Mistress Ogg's maid for the rest of her life, clinging to the hope that one day she would be taught again.

It was Sadie's one free day of the week, the day when Mistress Ogg's granddaughters liked to go walking in the fields with a young man (or two, in Deirdre's case, but no one talked about that). Sadie sometimes wondered what it would be like to lie with a man, but she didn't have time to be fooling around. Besides, she had alienated most of the boys her age some time ago.

Sadie decided that she would hike up the mountain and quiz Dorrel about thunderbolt iron some more. Maybe she could convince him to part with a small pebble of the stuff. Before she left, she thoughtfully grabbed one of the leftover nails from Thomas' cabinet project, tucking it securely into a pocket before leaving the Ogg's house.

* * *

Still she was searching for a suitable mind... searching... searching...

_Found._

* * *

Sadie toiled her way steadily up the mountain, humming tunelessly to herself. She wondered when Dorrel would get tired of Sadie's comings and goings, and would simply refuse to answer when she kicked his rock. It was really of no consequence, she knew of several rocks hiding entrances to the dwarf tunnels, she would simply search until she found another dwarf that could be bribed for information. But she liked to wonder how much longer she could antagonize Dorrel before he hid from her; it was something of a study.

Lost in her musings, Sadie didn't realize at first when she wandered off the nearly non-existent trail she usually followed up the mountain. It took some minutes before she noticed that she was in a part of the forest where she had never been before, and heading strait uphill instead of somewhat slanted.

Sadie stopped, looking around to get her bearings. At some point she had turned Rimwards, going strait up the mountain instead of curving around it.

Sadie turned to retrace her steps, but something made her turn back to face uphill. She felt a longing to walk in this unknown part of the forest, to explore. She couldn't get lost, all she had to do was turn around and go downhill to find her way back to the village.

Sadie hesitated, wondering for a moment why she suddenly wanted to explore now.

_You want to know everything, don't you?_ The thought almost seemed like it came from outside of her, but it made sense. Sadie did want to know everything, she might as well know her own forest.

Sadie walked for some time, noting landmarks as she went. Occasionally she saw an interesting stream or a deer trail, but she never stopped to examine anything, something was pulling her onwards. She started to walk faster, feeling the excitement build in her mind. At the end of this walk she would find something amazing, Sadie knew it.

Finally Sadie arrived, breathing heavily, at a small nondescript clearing. She had the distinct feeling she had arrived, and she looked around at the clearing, wondering why she had felt drawn there.

It wasn't a clearing so much as a good sized, roughly circular space where no trees happened to be growing. Bushes and things grew around the edge of the clearing but not in it, which was puzzling. The only thing growing in the clearing were some short grasses. It didn't look special at all.

Sadie felt suddenly a cold breeze, despite the warm spring sun shining through the trees. She sniffed the air experimentally, it smelled faintly like frost. Sadie felt like she was being watched.

Unnatural coldness and the feeling she was being watched unnerved Sadie, but she kept a firm grip on her fear. "Who's there?" she called in a normal tone. Her voice was snatched away by the forest, which suddenly seemed to be very close and oppressive. Her grip loosened slightly, and she looked over her shoulder nervously.

"Hello Sadie." called a soft melodious voice from the clearing.

Sadie's head whipped back around and she stared at the person who had seemed to just appear out of thin air.

Sadie didn't normally notice beauty, but this woman was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. There seemed to be stars trapped within her long black hair, and starlight reflected in her eyes, even though it was the middle of the day. Her scarlet dress was plain, but worn with such a regal bearing that Sadie instinctively knew she was before a great lady.

"Who... who are you?" Sadie stammered, totally bereft of her normal composure. She felt so _young_, so _small_ standing before this amazing creature.

"I am your friend, child."

Sadie, who would normally have bristled at being called a child, couldn't tear her gaze away from the woman's eyes, which for some reason kept traveling down to glance at Sadie's side. "My friend? But how do you even know me?"

The woman smiled indulgently. "I have watched you, my child. I know that you yearn for knowledge. That is why I called you here."

"But..." Sadie paused nervously. "Why me?"

"You are the only one in that tiny village whom I think is worthy."

Sadie's mind seemed to be working in slow motion, dulled by the magnificence of the lady, but she couldn't argue with the lady's assessment. The entire village was full of fools and old women. "So you picked me..." she said wonderingly.

"Yes, child. I drew you here because you can learn what I could teach you..." The woman's voice dropped to almost a sultry whisper. "I can give you power, if you desire it."

"Power?" Sadie's eyes narrowed, her mind seeming to come sharply back into focus. "What kind of power?"

"The power to become the greatest... witch... in this land. You do want that, don't you?"

It was as if the woman were reading Sadie's mind, which she supposed was entirely possible. "I do," she said cautiously. "but what's the price?" There was always a price, with magic.

The lady smiled again, but her eyes were still occasionally flickering towards Sadie's side. "Ah, I see _you_ are no fool. There is no price... at first. But if in a week's time, if you still want what I am offering, I will ask you to do one favor for me. That is all."

Aha, there is was, the price. "And what is this favor you want from me?" No, not her side, the lady was staring at her _pocket_.

"Your help. I am trapped here in this place, and all I need is for you to use a fraction of the power I will give you to set me free."

Sadie raised an eyebrow. "If you're so powerful, why can't you get out by yourself?" She noticed for the first time that the lady seemed slightly transparent, and the persistently chilly wind that was still raising goose bumps on Sadie's arms didn't cause the lady's hair or dress to stir.

The lady's eyes flashed angrily, so fast that Sadie thought she might have imagined it, but her tone remained even and pleasant. "This clearing is like a door, and like any good door, it only opens when pushed from one side. Your side."

The lady's eyes filled with sorrow, and Sadie was suddenly overwhelmed with pity for her. "I have wished for so long to come to your world and teach worthy people my small talents, but alas, I am stuck, and until now no one has come close enough to the clearing for me to talk with them."

Sadie's feelings of pity increased, and she felt ashamed that she had questioned such a noble being. She would do anything to help this woman, the promised power was a gift she would gladly accept if the lady chose to give it. "Please Lady, I want to help you." Somewhere from within the fog that seemed to be clouding her thoughts, Sadie dredged up one last question. "Lady, why do you keep looking at my pocket."

The lady's smile seemed to become a bit forced. "Show me what is in there child." He voice hardened when Sadie just stared at her. "_Now_, child."

Sadie slowly drew the nail out of her pocket. "What is so special about this? It's only a nail."

The lady had regained her composure, and now sounded only mildly curious. "What is it made of?"

"Just iron."

The lady nodded, looking knowing. "That explains it then. Child, you must never have iron. It kills magic."

"Kills? What do you mean?"

"Iron has no magic, magic does not work on it, it is useless. You must never carry it Sadie."

Sadie agreed without thinking about it. The lady had just confirmed her own suspicions anyway.

The lady's smile broadened, and some corner of Sadie's mind noted how reminiscent it was of a cat. "Now come closer Sadie, I will give you some of my power." She held out a translucent hand, palm up, slender fingers reaching towards Sadie.

Sadie stepped forward immediately to the edge of the clearing, and extended her hand towards the lady's. After a few seconds that seemed to stretch to eternity, Sadie's fingers passed through the lady's, and a jolt of electricity shot up her spine.

Sadie jumped backwards from the clearing, shaking with sudden magical energy that crackled at her fingertips and was still running up and down her back.

"Oh, wow." was all Sadie managed to say.

The lady's smile was so wide, in a less regal person it might have been called a grin. "Come back tomorrow Sadie, and I can give you more."

Some remnant sense of duty made Sadie protest weakly. "But, Lady... today was my only free day, Mistress Ogg will be very upset with me if I don't do my chores..." she trailed off into silence.

"Mistress Ogg." The lady's voice became mocking. 'She promised to teach you, but what have you learned from her recently?"

"...nothing." Sadie whispered.

The lady's voice held the unmistakable tinge of command "Come back tomorrow." Her voice softened. "You will see that I keep my promises."

Sadie nodded, and then feeling something else was required, dropped into as deep a curtsey as she could manage without falling over. "I will, lady."

The lady nodded, "I will wait for you." and her image slowly faded, leaving behind only the impression of her smile, and the cold wind shivering in the trees.

Sadie stared at the spot where the lady had been for a long time before she managed to banish the fog from her mind. She looked at her hands, where little octrine sparks were jumping from finger to finger. A smile slowly spread across her face.

"We'll see whose the most powerful witch _now_, won't we Mistress Ogg?" Sadie whispered to herself. She turned around, almost running back down the mountain. As she went, Sadie briefly wondered if she was running _to_ the village or _from_ the clearing, but she dismissed that thought as nonsense.

Why would she run away from the lady? The lady was going to make all her dreams come true.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Discworld belongs to PTerry, as does as of the characters therein, except the ones that I made up for this story.

AN: it's been awhile I know, midterm season is upon me, and I am feeling its wrath. Hopefully after next week I'll be able to update a little more regularly, but I make no promises.

**

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**Circle Time by shrinni**

**Chapter 4**

Sadie emerged from the woods with a huge smile on her face. Power was still crackling in her fingertips, giving her the feeling of invulnerability.

Sadie walked briskly towards the Ogg's home, but stopped when she noticed that all of the villagers were for some reason clustered around their respective gardens, all staring at something intently and muttering to each other.

Curious, Sadie walked over to the nearest garden. "Good afternoon Mrs. Garlick... what is everyone staring at?"

"Look here," snapped Molly Garlick, "Look at what's happened to my cabbages!"

Sadie looked. Right in the middle of Molly's garden all of the cabbages had simply... lain down, forming a neat circle. Stooping down to examine the cabbages, Sadie noted that none of the plants had broken; it was as if they had always grown sideways and no one had noticed it before.

Sadie suddenly felt uneasy. "Mrs. Garlick, how long ago did this happen?"

Molly shrugged. "'Bout and hour ago, give or take."

Sadie turned and started walking towards the Ogg's home again, feeling troubled.

_The Lady appeared to me an hour ago, the same time as these... garden-circles. It's too odd to be a coincidence._

There was another circle in the Ogg's garden, but the yard was curiously deserted. Sadie opened the door to the place she never called home. "Hello?" she called softly.

There was no answer. Sadie checked in a closet and noticed that all of the broomsticks were missing.

_Mistress Ogg must be really worried if she made _everybody_ go to Bare Mountain, in daylight._

Sadie walked back out the door and set off once again for the woods, but this time she was heading up a different, and mostly unused, path.

* * *

On the rare occasions when witches needed to meet they went to Bare Mountain. The reason it was called Bare Mountain was because the top of the mountain rose out of he trees, completely devoid of all but scattered scraggly trees that clung to the windswept rock.

The witches met on Bare Mountain for the very sensible reason that no one ever went there, so it was a good place to meet unobserved.

Unfortunately, without a broom it was a steep and very rocky hike. Sadie arrived at the meeting place pink-faced and out of breath, wisps of hair struggling out of her severe bun to blow about her face in the ever-present wind.

"You're late." snapped Mistress Ogg from her place at the inner circle. She pointed at a group of girls, all students, sitting quietly away from the real witches. "Go sit down."

Sadie surveyed the two groups, her newfound power still humming quietly in her bones. Eleven women stood silently in a circle, some old some young, waiting for her to take her place. The students were sitting passively; the young girls in back whispering quietly to each other as bored young girls do, the older girls in front sitting in absolute silence, wanting so badly to join the circle, to be _accepted_.

Sadie noticed that Ellen, one of Mistress Ogg's granddaughters had moved from the girls to the circle of women. _How can she be accepted? I'm older than her, and she's a twit! Do I have to wait patiently for them to accept me... forever?_

The wind tugged at Sadie's skirt, it seemed to be pulling her towards the witches. _I'm tired of waiting._ she thought fiercely. "I don't think I belong there anymore, Mistress Ogg."

Mistress Ogg cocked an eyebrow. "You don't? And who said _you _were the one to make that choice?"

"I did." Sadie walked forward, not stopping until she was nearly nose-to-nose with the older woman. The younger students had stopped their whispering, and the only sound on Bare Mountain was the grasses rustling in the wind.

Mistress Ogg looked into Sadie's eyes for a long time, unblinking. Sadie returned the stare, willing her eyes not to water.

Mistress Ogg's eyes widened when she saw Sadie's new power, then narrowed in suspicion. "Where did you get that power, Sadie? Was it you makin' those... those... crop circles? If you have you'll be feeling the flat of my hand and no mistake! The king's men were sniffing around, asking whether I knew a witch who did this." She waved her hand irritably. "You know I don't truck with those people asking me _questions _about witches."

Sadie couldn't help but look away from Mistress Ogg's piercing gaze. "I... found the power in the woods." She muttered, unwilling to tell Mistress Ogg about the secret clearing. "There was a jewel in the stream," she went on, making up a story as she went along, "I thought it was just a bit of quartz, but when I went to pick it up there was this flash...but I didn't make those circles!"

"Power like that don't go lying around in the forest, waiting for people to find it." said Mistress Ogg. She obviously didn't believe a word Sadie had said, including not being at fault for the circles.

Sadie jutted out her chin defiantly, trying to stare down Mistress Ogg. "Well, that's what happened."

Mistress Ogg let the lie pass without challenging it again, but didn't back down. "It don't matter, you ain't ready to be a witch?"

"And why not?"

"Until you know the answer to that question, you won't _ever _be ready." Mistress Ogg said cryptically.

Beyond Mistress Ogg, Sadie could see the other witches nodding in agreement and approval of Mistress Ogg's statement. The older students looked confused, trying to wonder what undefined quality that they too must lack to be left out. Their unquestioned acceptance infuriated Sadie.

_Of **course** they agree, they're all related to her, she's queen over them, never letting me have a chance!_

"And that's supposed to keep me in line," Sadie hissed, "a stupid riddle? Let me show you something, _old_ woman."

Sadie stepped back from Mistress Ogg, her anger making her feel reckless. She concentrated and raised her hands, palms up, to shoulder height. As she raised her hands, so to did the students, until the group of them were hovering several feet on the ground.

Some of the girls cried out in fear, struggling to put their feet on the ground as if it were only a matter of reaching. Other girls, older ones mostly, the ones who wanted so badly to stop being students, stared at Sadie and tried to free themselves from her invisible grip.

Their attempts to get free were less bothersome than a buzzing gnat in the face of Sadie's power. Laughing gleefully, the wind blowing tendrils of hair wildly around her face and her skirt flapping around her ankles, Sadie raised her hands further. The circle of witches standing behind Mistress Ogg rose slowly to hover near their students.

The witches didn't yell or struggle, they simply attacked. The concentrated force of the witches almost made Sadie lose her control, but it was still not enough to set them free.

"What now?" Sadie said to Mistress Ogg. "All these fools can't beat me. I'm more powerful then them, I'm _better_ then them."

Mistress Ogg, still standing less than a stride away from Sadie with her feet firmly on the ground, looked less than impressed. "It don't matter." She said quietly.

"Of course it matters!" yelled Sadie, trying not to show the strain of keeping so many people aloft while enduring their persistent attempts to get free. "Isn't power the whole _reason_?"

"No," said Mistress Ogg quietly. "the reason is control."

Sadie glared at Mistress Ogg. "It's the same thing! _I_ have the control here!"

"No, you don't." Mistress Ogg took one step forward and struck Sadie across the face, hard.

Shock more than hurt made Sadie lose her grip on her power, sending the witches and students abruptly back down to earth.

"How _dare_ you hit me!" screeched Sadie. "It's a stupid trick! You don't have more power than me!"

"The power ain't yours!" Mistress Ogg's voice rose in anger. "You found some power and took it, with no heed to the price!"

"There was no price." Sadie shot back.

"There's _always_ a price, you stupid girl. You don't have any control because you never earned the power, and the price is always be too high!"

Sadie paused, wondering for a split second if Mistress Ogg was right. _Did I make a mistake?_

Sensing her hesitation, Mistress Ogg lowered her voice. "You have to pay the price, you know. You took the power, and now you owe. But I can help you learn control, it's all I've been trying to teach you for weeks now, and you can learn, I know it." Her voice grew stern. "But you have to tell me who gave you the power. Was it a wizard?"

For an instant Sadie wanted to give in, but then pride took over.

_She's trying to trick you, she's frightened of you..._

"You want me to meekly give way?" she asked, becoming surer of herself as she went. "Stay in line, forever? I'm not in your family, you can't just say it and make it so!"

An unreadable expression crossed Mistress Ogg's face, gone almost as soon as Sadie saw it. "If you think you're done learning, then you can go." she said.

"...Go?" Sadie asked, not understanding.

"You don't want to learn what you're missing, then you ain't a witch. You have no place with us. _Go_." It wasn't a statement, it was a command.

Sadie drew herself up. "You can't make me leave!"

Mistress Ogg had gone from angry to being as calm and matter-of-fact as if she were describing the weather. "You want to challenge me? Here? Now?"

The ever-present wind seemed to weaken, and an oppressive stillness settled over Sadie. Mistress Ogg was as sturdy as a rock, and her terrible certainty made Sadie's resistance die.

She turned on her heel and marched away from the witches and students, heading back down the mountain. Behind her, a babble of voices rose, arguing about what Sadie had done, what she might do.

Once she was out of sight, angry tears started streaming down Sadie's face. She couldn't beat Mistress Ogg.

_Not yet..._

She would show them, when she let the Lady into the mountains in seven days. They would all see her greatness then. The Lady would make her great.


End file.
